


Cosmos and chocolates

by Daughter_of_the_TARDIS



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Cute, F/F, Fluff, Space Wives, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-29 10:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17806271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS/pseuds/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS
Summary: “Alright then, Doc.”  he said, moving up to stand at the console next to her.  “Let's get her a Valentine's gift that she won't forget.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm baaaaa-ack

Graham looked up from the book he was reading, only slightly surprised when the TARDIS landed in the middle of his living room. Even though he had told the Doctor that he was done traveling with them, she still managed to 'accidentally’ land the TARDIS in his living room on a regular basis. Ryan had taken to texting him to let him know when they were coming to pick him up for a trip, but there were times that his grandson just forgot to do so. 

“At least this time she missed the table.” He muttered, climbing to his feet and throwing on his shoes. If he didn't move quickly, the Doctor would come out and get him herself, and he didn't want a repeat of the Loofa Incident. Ryan and Yaz hadn't been able to look at him for weeks after that.

The TARDIS doors opened easily enough, the familiar golden light shining out. But when he stepped inside, the only one there was the Doctor herself. She looked up at him, a relieved smile making its way onto her face when she saw him.

“Graham!” she practically sighed in relief, the tension easing in her shoulders. “Good, you're here.”

He took a few steps forward, brows furrowed as he took in the blonde alien. She was still in one piece, with no obvious signs of trouble - no blood or bruises to be seen. “Is everything alright, doc? Where's Ryan and Yaz?”

But the Doctor waved him off. “Oh no, don't worry Graham. Ryan and Yaz are fine - I dropped them off on a spa planet in the thirty-third century.” She said, making the weight on his chest lighten just a bit. But once he processed the information completely, his nerves returned with a vengeance. Especially when he saw the look on her face - like she was trying to swallow a small animal and couldn't quite get it down.

“Then why -” he began, but she cut him off before he could finish what he was saying.

“I need your help.”

Those four little words were more than enough to send his mind racing. The Doctor only ever admitted that she needed help when things were dire. When she had hit the bottom of the barrel and the stakes were at their highest. Thoughts of what could be happening ran through his mind at triple speed, over and over and over until her next words brought his train of thought to a screeching halt.

“I don't know what to get my wife for Valentine's day.” she said, looking as worried as Graham had ever seen her. Her hair was a mess, her expression was frazzled, and he was pretty sure there was fried egg on her collar. All in all she was even more of a space disaster than usual, and not herself at all.

He relaxed, feeling slightly annoyed that she had gotten him so worked up over something so small. “Is that all?” He asked, momentarily skipping over the revelation that the Doctor was married, labeling it as something to deal with later.

But the Doctor didn't seem to agree with his assessment. “This isn't a small thing, Graham! I can't leave her hangin’ on Valentine's day! What if she thinks I don't love her anymore?” She looked so pained at the thought that it made his heart ache. It reminded him more than a bit of himself when Grace was alive - eager to do anything possible to show the woman she loved just how much she cared. Only instead of diamonds and chocolates or petrol-station flowers, the Doctor has the entirety of the cosmos to offer her bride. She could bring her anything that the woman could ever desire. But when Graham pointed that out, the Doctor shook her head, her face scrunched up.

“Nah. River wouldn't approve - she likes to steal her own jewels, not have them bought in a store.” there was a small smile on her face as she said it, and a gleam in her eyes that said she wouldn't have it any other way.

“I'm going to assume that's some sort of alien metaphor.”

The Doctor shrugged. “You can if you like.”

“Alright then, Doc.” he said, moving up to stand at the console next to her. “Let's get her a Valentine's gift that she won't forget.”


	2. Chapter 2

They had been trying to figure out what to get her for hours now. Every idea that Graham had, the Doctor turned down, saying that it was something that her wife would already have or was too boring. Of course, he had really only managed to say one thing - the Doctor kept interrupting with ideas of her own, each one more wild than the last. He had lots of questions about the woman that the Doctor had apparently married, but tried to hold them back for as long as he could. After all, he knew better than just about anyone that even the most innocent of questions could set off memories. But as they took a break and headed towards the kitchen, he couldn't help himself anymore.

“So how come you never said you were married to begin with?” Graham asked hesitantly, following the Doctor through the halls of the time ship. The ship - which the Doctor swore was alive - hummed reassuringly around them, the sound as familiar to him now as the sound of Grace's soaps on in the background were. The blonde alien's hand traced over the walls, the ends of her coat flapping out behind her dramatically as she walked.

She didn't even turn to look at him as she answered. “It's a long story.” she said, her voice echoing slightly. She turned the last corner to arrive in the kitchen, and Graham once again thanked his lucky stars that she had led him there. There were so many twists and turns to reach the kitchen that it was a miracle anyone ever found it. It had surprised the humans at first that the ship even had a kitchen, but then they realized that it made sense for the massive ship to have one - even if it seemed as though the only thing the Doctor ever ate were custard creams.

“We've got time.” He replied, making his way across the room and settling down at the kitchen table. He contemplated making a cuppa, but decided against it - it seemed like every time he tried to eat or drink something around the Doctor, it went wrong and he ended up running for his life.

But the Doctor shook her head so furiously that Graham was almost afraid she would hurt herself. “No we don't!” She protested. “We have to get my wife presents!”

While it was almost adorable to see the Doctor so worked up, he knew that it wouldn't actually help anything. If anything, it would make things more difficult in the long run because he would have to get her to calm down again. Still, he couldn't help the ache in his chest as he remembered how he used to be the same way when it came to getting things for Grace. “You have a time machine, Doc. Plenty of time for me to learn about her and to get her presents.

“What's her name, at least?” Graham tried, not actually expecting an answer. But the blonde surprised him.

“Her name was - is - River.” She said, and he ignored her slip-up. Even if they were just going to put Valentine's gifts on the woman's grave, he still wanted to be there for his friend. But the smile on the Doctor's face at just the mention of her wife's name was enough to let him know that he was doing the right thing.

Figuring the basics would be a good starting place, he began coming up with ideas. “What about chocolates?”

“Too normal.”

“Flowers?” He suggested, and she brightened for a moment before shaking her head as she remembered something important.

“She's allergic.”

“Ok.” He said, pausing for a moment. “Then what about jewelry?”

“The last time I bought my wife jewelry she got mad at me for ruining a perfectly good heist.” The Doctor reminisced, a nostalgic smile playing on her face. 

The look on Graham's face must have given away what he was thinking, because a small smirk crossed the Doctor's face even as she blushed. “What other ideas do you have?” She asked, trying to change the subject.

Despite knowing what she was trying to do, he let her get away with it. “Well here's one…” he began.


	3. Chapter 3

Luna University, 5146

River Song made her way through the halls of Luna University, heels clicking against the stone floors as she rummaged through the files in her hands. While the rest of the staff had switched to holograms centuries ago, she didn't mind paying top dollar for actual paper and pens to write her lesson plans with. It was a habit that stuck with her from her childhood, but when asked, she just said it was to get her students in the proper archeological mood.

She kept trying to focus in on her lecture materials for the class she had to teach - the details of the Climate Change Crisis of 2030 - but her mind kept pulling her in a far more troubling direction. It had been months since the last time she had seen the Doctor, which was worrisome on its own. 

She shook her head, pulling herself out of those thoughts before she decided to go looking for him indoors. She had a class to teach.

But before she could even make it into her lecture hall, she was stopped by the mass of students huddled around her doorway. That in itself was strange - her students knew that she expected them to be waiting and in their seats when she arrived. This hadn't happened since her first week of teaching, several centuries earlier.

“What's going on?” She asked, her voice sharp and making a few students jump back. “Why aren't you all in class?”

“The door's locked, Professor.” one of her students said - a Venusian who had a gift for analytical writing. She knew that one day the woman would be a master in her field - she had attended enough of her lectures in the future to know that - but at the moment it was just difficult to get her to turn in her papers on time.

That brought the Professor up short. She distinctly remembered leaving it unlocked yesterday - it had been Valentine's and she had been more than a little bit cross that her husband hadn't shown up. “Strange, it shouldn't be…” 

She moved over to the door, pulling the old skeleton key out of her pocket and sticking it into the lock. It was another anachronism, but one that had served her well - DNA could be stolen and finger prints could be mimicked, but keys like the one she used had died out centuries earlier. She kept one hand on the gun at her waist as she unlocked the door, ready for anything on the other side. She expected Daleks, or the Silence, or maybe the chemistry TA who couldn't take no for an answer.

What she didn't expect was a tiny blonde woman, an older gentleman, and the TARDIS. The Old Girl sent out a welcoming hum, greeting her daughter in the same way she always did.

She stepped into the room, her eyes focusing on the blonde immediately. Normally she might have thought that the older gentleman was the Doctor, if not for the way that the woman was practically bouncing in place. Not to mention the sheer ridiculousness of her clothing that practically screamed who she was.

River leaned against the door frame, ignoring the way her class jostled behind her to see what was going on inside. “Hello sweetie.” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Happy Valentine's day!” The Doctor replied, practically throwing herself at her wife in her hurry to hug the other woman.

River laughed, catching her with practiced ease. “Happy Valentine's Day, my love.” She purred, taking a moment to catalogue the new set of features in front of her. “What have you got for me this time?”

“Well, I was going to get you flowers or chocolates or something.” The Doctor admitted, and River frowned. She would have hated that more than just about anything, and her spouse knew it. “But… then I remembered the resort that I left Ryan and Yaz at.” 

There it was, River mused. There was always a twist when one was married to the Doctor. “What about it?” she asked, ready for just about anything as an answer.

She wasn't disappointed. “It may have been overrun by sentient slime.”

“Of course it has.” She replied, shaking her head even as she pulled out her gun and began checking it over, making sure that everything was working properly.

“What?” The older man asked, looking worried. River almost laughed. As it was, a slow smile crept it's way across her face. “Why haven't we saved them yet?”

“Relax, Graham.” The Doctor said, waving off his concern, her eyes locked on her wife. “That's part of why we came here first. Happy Valentine's day, dear - let's go save a planet together?”

“Sweetie,” River laughed, shaking her head at her wife's ridiculousness even as she descended the stairs to join the other woman. “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know chapters for this one were a lot shorter than they usually are - sorry for that. I think I'm getting back into the Space Wives mindset, though.

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on Tumblr at riversongandsweetie!


End file.
